Haruno Sakura Reborn (3rd Version)
by TheStoryAdopter
Summary: AkatSaku. Sakura was betrayed by her so-called Akatsuki family for a new girl. She leaves for 2 years, living a new life and making new and real friends allowing her to bloom into her true self. Now she's back. How will Akatsuki feel when she forgot about them? Original by XxRussia-s-GirlxX and version 2 by MiyatheEarthninja! This is the THIRD version. Slightly edited summary.
1. Betrayal is a Double-Edged Sword

**Disclaimer- I DON'T own Naruto. NOR do I own THIS story...at least not yet. **

**The original version of this story is by XxRussia-s-GirlxX. It was then adopted by MiyatheEarthninja who was so kind to let me write my own version to it as well. So in summary this is NOT my idea, I am the third person that I know of to continue "****Sakura Haruno Reborn" and as such own little to zero credit for what you are about to read. :P **

**(No flames plz)**

**If that's okay with you, then read on! **

* * *

**Haruno Sakura Reborn (3rd Version)**

_Chapter 1_

**Betrayal is a Double-edged Sword**

* * *

**_3 years ago_**

_"T-those bast-uhhh . . . jerks! How could they?! H-How could they do this to me?! _

_"I-I thought we were closer than f-f-family..."_

_The pinkette's scream turned into wet, muffled sobs as she plopped her face into her pillow. The Akatsuki she knew wouldn't have done that to her. Wouldn't have utterly betrayed her by ditching her the moment she - the slutty girl with her two-faced acts - strolled through the door. Damn Hikari! _

_She could scream and cuss all she wanted at the girl but even now she couldn't bring herself to badmouth her boys - _**her**_ boys no longer._

* * *

"...S-Sakura? As in Haruno Sakura? Is that really you?!"

"Um...Yes...?"

It came out as a question even thought she hadn't meant it to. She dragged her wrists out of his painfully tight grasp and smiled hesitantly at the strange piercing-clad guy as he stuttered and apologised for hurting her.

"Good to see you look well," he said finally and pink eyebrows knotted together in confusion.

"Um...you look well too...I guess...but, uh, do I know you?"

Haruno Sakura stared at him as he recovered from his shock, ducked his head ashamedly then lifted it again - the hurt not quite gone from his eyes.

"Look, Sakura. I told you I am really really sorry. _We_ are really really sorry. Can't you forgive us already? It's already been 3 years since -"

"- What do you mean?"

Her seemingly innocent question had him falling back into shock, mouth slightly open, his gray-purplish ringed eyes wide and utterly confused.

"Sakura!" A high feminine voice called out just as someone else shouted out: "Saku-chan!"

She turned around in response to the voices, eyes brightening and lips curving into a gentle smile that stunned the male further.

Had Sakura always seemed that...soft?

"Yuki. Suimari," the pinkette greeted warmly.

The girls skipped merrily to her side, faces faltering as they saw the bright orange-haired boy still standing in shock before her. Yuki took Sakura's arm and dragged her protectively behind her back while Suimari stepped forward angrily prodding a finger into his chest.

"Look here, dude. I don't know who you are or what you want but stay away from our Saku-chan. One look at you tells me you're better off forgetting whatever you knew about her in the past 'cos she's not the same person. Get it? Then get lost!"

Pein backed away not because he was hurt or afraid but because of sadness and disbelief.

Sakura didn't remember who he was!

Sakura had never been very good at holding long-time grudges. She always gave in to them at the drop of the hat - forgave them.

So she couldn't be serious, could she? She couldn't have forgotten about him, about **_them_** so quickly could she?

But if he knew anything about Haruno Sakura he knew she wasn't faking it. Sakura had never been good at acting or lying either. Her fingers would tremble and her emerald eyes would always twitch whenever she was lying. He had always thought it was funny.

Now it wasn't so funny.

'Cos Sakura had forgotten about **_them_**.

A well of memories opened up his mind and he recalled some of the good times they had had together: Sakura snorting in that cute adorable way of hers, laughing uncontrollably as Tobi and Deidara tackled her into the ground, her short bubblegum hair splayed out on the grass, pearly white teeth gleaming in her trademark cat-like smile; Sasori and Itachi coming up from behind with tiny smirks plastered on their faces, surprising her into a full-body blush by picking her up bridal-style from the ground; Sakura hiding her bright red face in Itachi's bare chest, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly as he wrapped a secure arm around her shoulders.

She had looked so warm; so sweet. And...

She had been **theirs**.

Pein clenched his fist until his knuckled turned white, recalling how she had smiled so gently at the two girls. The damn tomboy had the nerve to call Sakura '_our_Saku-chan'.

He frowned.

It didn't matter that he could hardly recognise her. Her bubblegum strands had grown long to hips that swayed when she walked - she had developed curves where there previously were none, she had lost her sharp edges and that light dusting of freckles on the bridge of her nose and grown to be a perfect picture of femininity.

It didn't matter that Sakura had changed. It didn't even matter that she had **forgotten** them.

Because no matter what...

**Sakura was theirs.**

* * *

_"What are you doing in my house?"_

_They flinched at her cold words, Pein did too but at least he did not stare at her in shock. They deserved her anger. It was expected. _

_But he saw that her knuckles were white, that her nails were digging in to leave angry red marks into the palm of her hand. They had hurt her. He was ashamed of the fact. They had hurt __**Sakura**__. They should have known that this was no ordinary betrayal - that they meant a whole lot more to her than the parents who had never cared for her did. _

_It had been the betrayal of the worst kind. _

_ "For the last time...__**What **__**are you doing in my house**__?" _

_Her voice was eerily quiet but her cool anger did not go by unnoticed. _

_Pein opened his mouth and let out four words that he had never in his life thought he would say:_

_"__**Sakura, I'm so sorry.**__" _

_Bright green orbs widened in shock and he knew he had said the right thing. (He ignored the astonished gazes of everyone else around him.) _

_Her face was carefully blank right now, but he knew what she was thinking anyway. That he, Ame Pein, Fearless Leader of the Akatsuki, had just apologised - __**apologised! **__- to __**her**__, Haruno Sakura, the disowned daughter of Haruno Daichi and Momoko who owned a multimillion business company._

_"__**Why?**__" _

_Why did they betray her?_

_No one answered. No one could. He didn't know why himself. _

_Still he thought she'd take a minute to recover then forgive them. And she did. Take a minute to recover that was. But she never forgave them. _

_The tiny flicker of distrust in her eyes was all the clue he had. _

_"Get out. I don't have time for this bullshit." _

_He didn't know what rendered him unable to move. The fact that his sweet Sakura had actually sworn at them or the fact that she no longer trusted them and was ordering them to get the hell out._

_Pein stood in a stupor even as Itachi grabbed her wrist and said "Sakura, don't do anything you'll later regret" and red anger flitted through her eyes, leading to a loud slap that echoed around the room. _

_"Get your dirty hands off me..." he thought he heard her mutter under her breath. But then she was laughing as if it was April Fool's except the next words that came out of her mouth were no joke. They cut like a knife. As if she hadn't just slapped Itachi but all of them. _

_"That felt damn good."_

_She slammed the door in their faces narrowly missing his nose as the others dragged him back in the nick of time. _

_Still he lingered at the doorstep to see if she was crying behind her door. Instead all he heard was her calling for her maid. "Kairi, go get my bags for me and put them in my car. I'm done with these stupid idiots. I'm done with Konoha."_

_"Yes, Sakura-sama! The earliest flight is due in half-an-hour." _

_Pein stiffened. She was going to leave Konoha. _

_He strained his ears, trying to catch any last words. Any destination. _

_But there was nothing. _

_She didn't even say goodbye. _

_All she said was..._

**_"Come after me, Akatsuki, and I'll never forgive you." _**

* * *

**Hey guys, if you have read the original or 2nd version by MiyaTheEarthNinja you would have noticed that I played around a lot with the structure. That's only because I wanted to make the timing more dramatic ;), but you can pretty much guarantee that it's still the bare bones of the Sakura Haruno Reborn. **

**If you haven't read the original then that's okay...keep reading. :) **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Bound by the Red-String of Fate

**Thanxx so much for reviewing, guys! Special thanks to cherry11111 for her PM. :)**

**I hope you like this chapter too! I have pretty much covered up what XxRussiaGirlxX wrote with this chapter so looks like I'll need to think of something creative of my own for the next chapters. xD**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"_Red String of Fate"_

* * *

_"Mom! What's wrong?! Are you alright?"_

_"-Yeah, Mom! Why are you crying?" _

_Tsunade lifted her head from her Jiraiya's shoulder, who gave her a reassuring gaze befitting of any husband, and flicked guilty tears away from the corner of her soft caramel eyes. _

_Her poor girls..._

_The middle-aged blonde woman gazed hesitantly into bright emerald eyes, her heart constricting anxiously. _

_Poor Sakura..._

"Girls. We've got some rather...interesting news...from Konoha..."

_They all looked at her surprised and curious - she had suddenly spoken in Japanese after all. And being half away around the world from Japan naturally made it seem strange._

_"Konoha?"_

_Tsunade swallowed. _

**"Yes, Konoha." **

* * *

One...Two...

...THREE!

A mischievous twinkle in two pairs of onyx eyes...

_"_BOO!" "GYAAAAHH!"

"- AAAAAAAAAAHHHH! AHHH- WHAT THE HELL?! _YUKI! SUIMARI!_"

Said girls rolled on the plush carpet holding their stomachs and laughing.

"_Pfft_. Saku-chan, your face! You should have seen your face! _._"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! God, that was the funniest thing ever!"

The pinkette groaned and ducked her head in embarrassment.

"You two will never stop humiliating me..."

Yuki and Suimari were strangely quiet - almost as if they were considering what she said. They looked thoughtfully at one another then at her and opened their mouths to answer her.

"_Course not_, Saku-dear!" They chimed, giggling their heads off.

"It'd take the fun out of life!" Yuki explained, grinning cheekily.

"That is also why you shouldn't be spacing out so often, Sa-ku-ra!" Suimari added, smiling. Then her face turned solemn. "What _were_ you thinking about, Sakura? You've been like that since..."

"Um, I...uh..."

"-It's not because of that piercing freak is it?" Suimari bit out.

"Well kinda, I mean not exactly _him _per se..."

Yuki and Suimari looked at one another again, but this time the humour was wiped off the faces. Suimari stayed silent, which was really unlike her. It was Yuki who told her to "Shoot".

"I was thinking about how weird this place feels...I mean, even before we arrived, just hearing Mom say 'Konoha' gave me this funny feeling down my spine. I feel sorta...excited, I guess."

"**_Excited_**_?" _

Suimari's eyebrows shot up while Yuki looked plain confused.

Wasn't she meant to feel like an intense anger or hatred or something? It's not like she had any pleasant memories here or anything. Even if she didn't remember what _they _did to her that caused her to flee Konoha, her deep-seated grudge for them shouldn't have just vanished like that. 'Cos the unconscious mind sometimes remembered things that even the conscious mind didn't.

Yuki should know - she knew better than anyone how hard it was to get rid of the past.

Sakura smiled tenderly at her sisters. "Do you believe in fate?"

"..."

_Fate, huh?_

"I feel as if fate is saying I have unfinished business in Konoha...maybe from a past life, huh?"

Sakura was on a roll; she didn't see how her sisters evaded her eyes.

"Something tells me it's about time for something to be resolved...so I'm excited."

* * *

They wouldn't do this to her. They **couldn't**!

_She stared back at hopeless green eyes in the bathroom mirror, tracing a shaky finger delicately down a red blotchy cheek stained with tears._

**Why can't they? They're all the same, Sakura. First it was Father, then it was Mother. Being blood relations didn't stop them from abandoning you, ay? **

**So you thought the Akatsuki were family? **

**Perhaps, 'cos they all thought of you in the same way.**

**You are****_ DISPOSABLE._**

* * *

"Sakura's back."

"..."

Six pairs of eyes stared back at him speechlessly.

"You could have had more tact than to say this now," Itachi said blandly.

"Hm." Pein grunted but acted as if he didn't see icy blue eyes point daggers at his head. "It's not like we have to worry about hurting her feelings."

The brunette in the corner of the room scowled at them, kicking the desk over with impressive fury even in her 6-inch heeled boots. "_She _has a name," she said bitterly.

Hikari sauntered over to them, one hand on her hip and the other trailing by her side as she shifted her weight onto one foot. 3 years ago, that very same pose would have had incited six pairs of lustful gazes at the ample cleavage her tight, somewhat unbuttoned blouse revealed as well as an eyeful of thigh just below the _very _short school-skirt.

Her eyes stared at them coldly but her red lips quirked into what she meant to be a seductive smile. "I'm not done with you guys yet. You leave when I'm done with you. Not a second before or after...you can't do to me what you did to Sakura."

"Why, you bitch!" Hidan hissed, rising to his feet but Itachi restrained his arms. "Fuck! Why are you stopping me, Itachi?! She's fucking saying it's all _our _fucking fault Sakura left!"

Hikari just threw her head back and laughed. "God, you really are stupid Hidan. You think I played a bigger role in her betrayal than _you guys did?!" _

Hidan struggled in Itachi's hold, gritting his teeth in red hot anger. "Bloody let go, Itachi!"

"She's telling the truth."

Hidan stared at Itachi and Hikari giggled in satisfaction. "_Fucking_ dumbass."

She walked over to the classroom door and stalked away without so much as a backward's glance, slamming the door behind her.

Hidan and Deidara both gaped but Pein, Sasori and Kisame were unsurprised. Tobi was uncharacteristically quiet, filling the air with an astonishingly malevolent aura.

Only for a minute or so.

"Tobi wants to know why Pretty Blossom didn't say hi to Tobi and friends."

Somehow it didn't sound so dumb as his other statements.

Itachi was already staring at Pein for answers, who reclined back on his seat unflinchingly. The others started in surprise.

"Yeah, why didn't she fucking come to see us, Pein?"

"**Cos she doesn't know who we are."**

"What do you mean, un?!" Deidara spluttered, horrified that Pein had suddenly discovered the ability to joke. Kisame chuckled nervously and Itachi blinked.

Pein simply glared them.

"You think I'm joking?"

The door creaked and they spun around to see a face as pale as the paper origami flower in her hair.

"Sakura's here," she gasped.

Then she seemed to notice that no one was surprised.

"Damn all of you! If you already knew then get the hell out there and APOLOGISE TO HER!"

"Konan, there's no use-"

"_Pein_. I don't care, I am not going to let you -"

"-she has amnesia."

"-prolong this stupid...WHAT?"

They all stared at him. "_AMNESIA?!"_

Pein's eyes betrayed his uncertainty. "It's the only thing that makes sense." _As to how she could have forgotten about us._

* * *

_The bitch was supposed to leave and never come back. _

Hikari growled as she sighted the blob of pink moving around on the first floor, sandwiched between two other girls she had never seen before.

Bile rose up in her throat.

There was no one she hated more than Haruno Sakura and how she had everyone wrapped around her pinky so effortlessly. The nerve of the girl to come up to her on that first day of term and assume she wanted to be friends.

Tachibana Hikari was never one to be treated as inferior.

She hated how innocent the girl the first time she laid eyes on her and from then on she had decided. She would break Haruno Sakura.

No, she was not jealous of her. She was merely doing Sakura a favour by teaching her what the _real _world was like.

In the _real _world, you weren't handed six hunks as protectors, a fortune and a horde of friends just for being yourself.

In the _real _world you can't rely or trust anybody but yourself.

That's why somebody like Hikari who had worked so hard to earn her the status, looks and life she had right now would never lose to somebody with the likes of Haruno Sakura.

She eyed the two giggling girls as they ushered the pinkette into her classroom.

So she was back.

Hikari hated to admit it but maybe she had underestimated her.

No matter; she would succeed this time with even less effort.

'Cos she knew that all she had to do was to slice open an old wound to shatter what little confidence Haruno Sakura had regained while she was away.

**"No hard feelings, Sakura. We're just bound by the red string of fate." **

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

"Quiet, down everyone." The silver-haired teacher commanded as three figures made themselves known outside the doorway. "We've got three new students joining us from today."

"I smell girls," a guy stated with a wide grin. Two his teeth were markedly sharper than the rest and protruded slightly as if he were a canine. "They're all girls.'

"Pfft. What kind of logic is that ..." someone muttered and the class snickered.

"You wanna bet, Sasuke?! I have an awesome sense of smell..." Kiba snapped, clearly offended.

The silver-haired man sighed and turned to the blackboard.

"Noo! Don't do that - I'll shut up, I swear, Kakashi-sensei!" Kiba said eyes wide just as Kakashi raked his nails down the board with a piercing screech.

"Arrrgh!" The rest of the class groaned and covered their ears while Kiba promptly head-palmed the desk, with a nauseous look on his face.

"That's not fair, Kakashi-sensei. You know I have a keen sense of hearing..."

Said man simply crinkled his eyes in amusement. "Well now that I've got your attention...come in, girls!"

"Told you so," Kiba said smugly as the girls stepped through the door.

The blonde haired boy sitting on the other side of him rolled his eyes and scratched his whiskers before noticing a very bright shade of pink enter the room -

"SAKURA-CHAN?!"

The pinkette simply stared at him in confusion and replied, "How does everyone know my fucking name?"

Suimari stepped in after her and told her quietly, "Of course they know your name Sakura. You ARE the daughter of the new principal."

"NANI! DAUGHTER?" The whole class shouted out in surprise.

Sakura bobbed her head down in a polite bow, bending precisely forty-five degrees at the waist.

"Hajimemashite. (Nice to meet you). I am Senju-Haruno Sakura and these are my sisters Senju-Uchiha Yuki and Senju-Kitano Suimari. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. (Please take care of us)."

Previously shocked onyx eyes widened further and his desk was upturned in his haste to stand up.

All eyes turned on Sasuke.

.

**"Yuki-neesan."**

* * *

**Don't forget to review! ;)**


	3. Because you are Naive

**Due to studies, the next update won't be coming up for a while! I thought I should post something up AND say it rather than edit my last chapter. Better idea, isn't it? :3**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_"Because you are naive"_

* * *

**"Yuki-neesan." **

Everyone gaped at the expression the usually stoic Uchiha had on his face. Who the hell was she?!

Said girl looked surprised for a moment then a shadow of grief or regret flickered across her face before she tucked her raven strands behind her ear and gazed blankly at him.

Sasuke on the other hand was caught between smile and a frown. "But he told me you were dead...?"

The class gasped and darted intense looks between both of the good-looking, raven-haired and onyx-eyed Uchihas captivated by the rare drama unfurling right in front of their eyes.

Anger and hurt flashed across Yuki's face and Sakura had to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Sakura had never seen Yuki so angry before. It was kind of scary actually to see Yuki's normally gentle features turn so cold and fierce.

It hurt too. Because Yuki was feeling hurt. And that made Yuki's anger contagious.

Sakura clenched her free hand into a tight fist. Damn whoever had caused _her_ Yuki this pain!

As the class's whispers became louder and louder, the tension became thicker in the air until Kakashi dispelled it with another horrible screech on the blackboard. This time however, he did not seem too amused.

"Take your seats. You can catch up with each other after I take the roll."

He flicker of concern ran across Kakashi's face as he watched Sasuke grimly take a seat, but otherwise he began calmly resuming his duties.

* * *

"Where's Yuki?"

Sakura started. "W-what?"

The former raven-haired boy was standing within an arm's length from her - too close for comfort. Who was he to demand her to answer him in this way?!

"Who the hell-"

"Sakura. Please, just tell me where she went."

An involutary shiver ran down her spine. The way her name rolled off his tongue sounded so achingly...familiar. He wasn't using any suffixes which was rather rude for someone he just met but - He took a step closer, bringing his face was so close to her she could see the long dark sweep of his eyelashes. _**HOT! **_

Sakura flushed. What the hell was wrong with her? She never crushed on someone she just met! And did she just call him HOT?! That...wasn't in her personality. Yet clearly something her mind had screamed and I mean screamed "HOT!".

"I-I don't know..." his face fell "...but maybe _you_ do."

Sakura didn't know why she said that; why she was helping him. She didn't even know his name for god's sake. Yet he seemed so desperate it she couldn't help but tell him that tiny bit of information.

His dark eyebrows knotted together for a second then realisation dawned on his face and gave a weak smile. "Thanks Sakura. I'll...be back. I want to know how you've been too."

_How she's been? _Wasn't that kind of a weird thing to say? Sakura thought, but she dismissed it with a wry smile as he exited the room.

.

_Itachi._

Sasuke balled his hands into fists. Yuki had undoubtedly gone to find Itachi. He turned the corner and climbed up the stair well - two steps at a time - towards the senior classrooms.

Just as he was about to push the door open, he heard Yuki's hushed voice and Akatsuki, causing him to still and listen in on the conversation.

.

"Yuki! You're alive! I thought you died!"

Yuki tossed her hair back and snorted but pointedly ignored him.

"You're mistaking why I'm here, _Itachi,"_ she spat. "Or should I say..._cousin._"

The news and the way she said it made the Akatsuki's jaws drop.

"What the fuck?! I thought you fucking had no relatives!"

"This chick is your cuz, Itachi?!"

"...Hn."

"_Like I said, _**this isn't why I'm here**," Yuki snapped.

A short silence descended in the room.

"Well, she's just as scary as you, un-" Deidara began but someone cut him off.

Surprisingly it was Tobi. "Tobi wants to know why scary girl is here!"

Yuki stared at him distastefully.

"Whatever. I want to talk about Sakura."

"What about her?"

Everyone looked at Pein. It was the first time he had spoken up since Yuki had stormed into their room.

"You should have noticed that there's something different about her. If you haven't figured it out, then you don't deserve to be hearing this."

Everyone stared at her confusedly.

"Tobi wants to know-"

"Shut up, un. Let her speak!"

Yuki laughed bitterly. "Gee you guys are pathetic!"

They all flinched.

"Why you fucking-!"

"-I don't see what Sakura saw in all of you."

Once again Yuki had insulted them and gotten away with it. She had effectively silenced them - even Hidan.

"All I'm telling you is that if you even have one shred of remorse in you, then _help _her."

"How can we help her if you don't tell us what's wrong with -"

"-That's...not my story to tell."

Nobody said anything.

"If you..._care..._which I think you don't and god tell me why I'm even trying..._you _will find out what happened to Sakura _yourself_ and help her _remember._"

She had let it slip. Yuki bit her lip.

Itachi reached out to grasp her shoulder but she shoved him away viciously. "Don't touch me, you murderer!"

To their surprise, Itachi recoiled as if he had been slapped, his eyes flashed briefly with hurt.

Yuki breathed in and out deeply in an effort to calm herself.

"Now...if you'll excuse me."

She glared at Kisame to move out of the way and opened the door to see...

.

"**S-Sakuke**."

.

Itachi's face darkened.


	4. Breeze from the Past

**Hullo, it's been a month hasn't it? I can't update so frequently but I'll do my best to keep going. So let's get back to that cliffie now shall we?**

* * *

Haruno Sakura Reborn (3rd Version)

_Chapter 4_

Breeze from the Past

* * *

**"Don't touch me, you murderer!"**

Sasuke stiffened. _Itachi?_

_Why was Yuki-neesan calling his aniki a murderer?_

He strained his ears to listen on any adamant denials on Itachi's part, but there was nothing. Nothing but a mind-bending silence.

_Why wasn't Itachi defending himself?!_

After all who didn't know that the Uchiha arson attack ten years ago was an unfortunate incident carried out by a mental escapee from the Otogakure Prison, who was now firmly back behind bars. Well sure the event still carried with itself a huge amount of mystery and public speculation because the investigators hadn't been able to determine a clear motive, but they had never labelled Sasuke or Itachi - two of the only three remaining survivors of the Uchiha clan - as a possible culprit or assistant in crime.

Itachi had only been eight years old at the time. Sasuke had been five.

The international Uchiha corporation had been famous for developing equipment ranging from military weapons, such as the Amaterasu, Chidori and Sharingan, to expensive but high-quality, publicly-accessible contact lens and other glasses-wear (brand names Mangekyou and Tsukiyomi). The fact that it was such a successful company meant that the police had problems identifying any one culprit. There were only too many rivaling companies, company bodies and ordinary people with indebted to them (the Uchiha corporation also opened a bank) and quite a few public grudges - not to mention the possibility of insignificant randoms wanting to blackmail the prestigious corporation into giving them a share of their vast fortune.

Over the course of one night the entire Uchiha clan has been snuffed out in their sleep, Sasuke remembered little else but waking up in his brother's arms to the starless night sky and the whole Uchiha mansion shrouded in black-red flames. How he had struggled to break free and run back to his home. How he had cried and shrieked for his parents until his little throat became hoarse and lost consciousness due to sheer exhaustion.

No other memory from his five-year-old self had been as vivid. Yet he had almost forgotten his silent vow to seek revenge as the normalcy in his life had returned.

_Yuki-neesan is alive._

_She called Itachi a murderer._

Sasuke felt his mind whirr in confusion.

_And what was it they were talking about Sakura?_

He didn't realise how long he had stood there repeating the questions over and over again in his mind but the abrupt movement of the door caught his eye and he stared into the onyx-orbs of his long-lost cousin.

**"S-Sasuke." **She gasped in surprise.

Behind her, Itachi turned away, his face dark and unreadable.

The Akatsuki were scattered about the room with various degrees of intent looks directed towards the three Uchiha.

Pein glanced at Itachi and uncharacteristically rose to his feet with a concerned look in his eyes.

**"Leave."**

Yuki blinked and pushed past Sasuke without any comment on Pein's authority. She looked like she wanted out of this mess. Sasuke's eyes followed her retreating form but something kept him from grabbing her wrist and demanding answers.

Perhaps it was because he wasn't ready for it. Not when Yuki was so adamant that Itachi was the bad guy. Not when his head couldn't make any head nor tail of this mess.

He finally caught Itachi's eyes and a silent message was conveyed between them both.

_We need to talk.  
Aa._

Sasuke turned and trotted back down the staircase.

The atmosphere in the Akatsuki club room was still strangely tense.

"You Uchihas are messed up, un."

"Hn."

"..."

"Did you just fucking agree with him 'tachi?!"

* * *

"G-Get away from me!"

Suimari's head whipped around to the source of the shaky, low-pitched female voice to spot a small figure surrounded by four menacing girls.

"Now why would we do that?" The tall blonde in front jeered. Her friends giggled as she shoved the poor brunette backwards, her glasses fell to the ground and cracked.  
The shorter ebony-haired girl with a face caked with make-up lifted up a non-descript brown backpack with a manicured finger and tipped its contents onto the ground.

"Whoops. My bad. Pick it up for me will ya?"

The girls broke into a fresh batch of giggles, as their victim sniffles and hugged her empty backpack to her chest.

"W-Why won't you people just leave me alone?"

"Leave the poor girl alone you shameless bunch of bullies!"

Suimari covered the distance between them with a few strides and firmly pushed the blonde away with one hand and stretching out the other to pull the girl to her feet. The blonde tossed her head and scowled but surprisingly did nothing in retaliation.

"Let's go girls. We're done here."

Suimari blinked as they hightailed it out of there, the last of them giving her a smug, devious grin as if to say "You'll regret this, girl."

She felt the brunette pull on her hand to get up, wiping away her tears with the other hand. Strangely, her grip felt quite strong. Couldn't she have defended herself? Also doesn't she look kinda timid to be wearing such a short school skirt?

Suimari pushed away the strange thoughts as the girl finally spoke.

"T-Thanks."

"No problem," Suimari replied.

Icy blue smiled into black and the brunette bobbed her head in a casual greeting bow. "I'm Hikari. You are...?"

"Suimari."

Red lips curved into a satisfied smile.

"Can I call you Mari for short?"

* * *

Itachi gave a silent huff of displeasure at the day's turn of events and glared at the corridor in annoyance. The day was such a mess it was no wonder he hated surprises. He hated it when things didn't go as he expected.

He sighed. Could this day get any worse?

Surprisingly it could. A familiar flash of brown and icy blue caught his perceptive eyes. He had seen those red lips quirk up into a devious grin and immediate suspicion had coursed through him; a smiling Hikari did not bode well for anyone.

His eyes narrowed as he noticed that she had worn a disheveled blazer over her usual clothes despite the fact that it was rather hot. Her careful brown ringlets were straightened and instead in careful disarray - it looked almost...plain.

Hikari hated looking plain.

He hesitated for some unknown reason before he followed her down the corridor into one of the study rooms where she turned around and smiled as if she had known he was there all along.

"Hi Itachi."

His face darkened; he did not return the smile. "What are you up to, Hikari?"

She giggled and lifted her index finger to her chin feigning thought. "I don't know...do you?"

His eyes narrowed threateningly.

She seemed to shudder and surrender. "It's not a big deal. I was only making some new friends." Hikari defended herself.

Itachi was not fooled. "With who?"

"With a certain someone's sister," Hikari replied a bit too smugly.

It suddenly dawned on Itachi what she had been up to and his eyes became a frightening intensity. "Sakura."

"That's right - ow! What are you -!"

Itachi gripped her firmly by the collar and pinned her to the wall angrily. "You will not do anything to hurt Sakura."

She struggled in his grasp and flailed her arms, blue eyes wide with obvious fear. Yet she did not surrender. "You can't tell me what to do, Uchiha..." She hissed shakily.

He growled and clenched his fists a bit tighter, the collars of her white shirt would leave red marks around her neck for days. She gulped.

"H-HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" She screeched, tears streaming down her face.

Itachi snapped back to his senses. Hikari was crying...Hikari never cried.

Something was wrong.

He released her from his grip and stepped back only to see her red lips quirk into a shaky smile. "Too late, Itachi."

His eyes widened as the door flung open and the homeroom teacher rushed in, his face pale and accusing. "You young man are expelled from Konoha High! How dare you sexually molest a classmate! You are a shame on the school!"  
Hikari slid down from the wall dramatically, clothes and hair all disheveled and curled into a pathetic fetal position, hugging her knees and sobbing loudly.

As Itachi stepped outside the room he cast a deathly glare at her; he hadn't failed to see her mouth the words that sent his blood roaring into his ears. The damn schemer had planned this from the start.

.

**"I win, Itachi-kun. Who's gonna be around to save your precious Sakura now?"**


	5. Bring it on

Thanks for all the support guys! Tbh I completely forgot about Kakuzu but I shall try to slot him in somewhere...my bad. Don't think I'll have Zetsu tho.

* * *

**Haruno Sakura Reborn (3rd Version)**

**Chapter 5**

_Bring it on!_

* * *

_Goddamnit!_

Itachi glared at the principal, curling his fingers into his tight fists. Never had he felt so much like openly rebelling and smashing the wooden desk in front of him just to see the man gawk. It wasn't fair.

Hell, nothing in **_his_** life was ever fair.

Hislife had always been one big mess. _  
_

"Anything to say for yourself, young man?"

Itachi furiously kept his mouth shut. It wasn't like they would believe him even if he denied it. The scheming bitch had orchestrated the whole thing, chosen the perfect angle for the video camera. The principal had played it the video in front of him and he cursed how utterly _stupid_ he had been. The Uchiha Itachi making such a stupid _stupid _mistake.

To any outsider it looked like he really was in the wrong.

The principal nodded grimly. "I am very disappointed in you. Obviously you know what this means right?"

Itachi tried not to show his concern. "...Expulsion?"

"Most likely. But I will be talking to your pa- your guardian first."

Itachi's eyes shot up in surprise, anger and protest.

"You don't have any say in this, Itachi."

"..."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Ah...that must be him right now."

Itachi clenched his fists even tighter, as the long raven-haired man swept into the room with his typical regal air even though he was dressed in just a business suit. Well not just an ordinary business suit. A very high quality, specially tailored and elegant business suit.

The man smiled charismatically at the principal who hurriedly stood up to shake his hand, slightly surprised to see that the man did not seem to be daunted by the fact that his nephew had been misbehaving.

"Uchiha Madara. So glad to finally meet you, Mr. Yamada."

* * *

"Hey, Mari!"

Sakura and her sisters spun around in surprise as a happy-go-lucky Hikari walked up to them. She ignored both Sakura and Yuki as she seemed to address Suimari directly. "Thanks so much for the other day, you know..."

"Ehrm. Sure."

Hikari shifted uncertainly and spun a stray brown lock of hair around her finger nervously. "I was wondering...could you perhaps accompany me to the library...as a friend? They won't bully me if you're around...and I really need to study for an exam"

Suimari glanced back at Sakura and Yuki, who nodded innocently and raised a suspicious eyebrow respectively.

"I guess."

"Perfect!" Hikari beamed. She linked arms with Suimari's and skipped in the general direction of the library.

Sakura smiled after them. "She seems like a nice person..."

Yuki stared at her skeptically, but gave a reluctant "Hn...she's a bit rude if you ask me. She totally spoke to Suimari as if we weren't here."

* * *

"So...I hear that you want to talk to me about Itachi."

"Yes, that's right-"

"About retracting his expulsion order, I presume...?"

The principal stuttered. "N-No...-"

"How highly thoughtful of you. I knew that you would understand that he is just another teenage boy overidden with hormones, having been a kid yourself."

The man's eyes were wide. "As a matter of fact I -"

"Kakuzu."

Itachi looked up startled. _Kakuzu_?

At his call, a large bulky man with narrow eyes and a patchwork of formidable battle scars criss-crossing his face ambled through the doorway, his steps slow and heavy.

Itachi swung back to see the wiry old principal visibly gulp and shakily transfer his hands to his lap under the desk, in an attempt to retain composure. Itachi grudgingly felt some respect for the man for having not given up...yet.

He would however give in soon.

"My coat please..."

Kakuzu grinned knowingly at the principal as he gave walked unnecessarily close to the desk and handed Madara his coat.

"As you know, Mr. Yamada. I am a very busy man. I trust you to take care of things?"

Madara stood up and revealed himself as the imposing figure he was.

Mr. Yamada was not fooled for a second by the "request".

"I shall give your regards to Mr. Yoshio and Mr. Tekazumi," Madara added smoothly as if in an afterthought. "They are quite good friends of mine, and they must have seen a lot of potential in Konoha High to have sponsored it for so long."

"Of course." A rather pale Mr. Yamada hastened to reply. "Thank you for your time, Uchiha-san."

* * *

_Score_! That had been way too easy.

Hikari had been itching to see doubt and vulnerability reveal itself on the pinkette's face when she linked arms with her sister. Yet, the girl had done nothing but smile.

It was weird. The girl couldn't be _that _naive, could she? In fact, if Hikari hadn't known any better she would have thought that Sakura had forgiven her for what she had done. Hikari scoffed. And that was impossible.

"Tachibana Hikari."

Hikari stiffened at Suimari's tone of voice and turned around deceptively innocent.

"Yes, Mari-chan?"

"I'd rather you not call me that."

"Oh. Okay." Hikari feigned disappointment as she ducked her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"_I'm not the one you should be apologising to_."

Hikari bristled but decided to play safe. She wasn't done yet. She wasn't about to be done in by some happy-go-luck, friggen naive pink-haired freak.

"What do you mean?"

Suimari laughed in disdain. "You can drop the act, bitch."

Her hackles rose immediately, and Hikari struggled to keep her face from twisting into an ugly sneer. "What?"

She couldn't lose. Not when things were going so well and she had even gotten the sharp-eyed meddling Itachi out of the way.

"Did you think I wouldn't notice? I thought there was something fishy about you the first time I met you. I remember now...you're the bitch who stole Akatsuki from Sakura."

"Surely you don't believe that!" Hikari exclaimed teary-eyed. "I know there were rumours circulating around about me and Akatsuki but I swear, I had nothing to do with it! I felt sorry for Sakura when they betrayed her...they were a bunch of idiots for hurting her over a stupid bet."

"A bet?" Suimari repeatedly skeptically.

"Yeah," Hikari said eagerly. "I heard that - what the fuck?!"

Suimari shoved her down on the ground roughly and glared at her menacingly. "Get lost, Hikari. You think I would trust you over Sakura? Get real. You're just a sick jealous nobody who can't live without ruining somebody else's life."

"You know what gave you away? It's your _I'm-holier-than-thou_ attitude. Your slutty short skirt and your ice-cold bitchy eyes. Don't think for a second that anyone falls for your tricks. They all realise it sooner or later and the one left in the dust isn't Sakura, but low-lives like you."

Hikari gasped. "...Fuck you!"

Suimari turned on her heels and walked off without a backwards glance not at all surprised to hear the brunette cuss.

Hikari screamed in frustration and ripped off her blazer, chucking it on the ground and stamping out a hissy-fit on it.

She breathed in and out heatedly.

_Fuck you. I won't lose to you Haruno Sakura. And you too, Senju-Kitano Suimari. I'll make you regret humiliating me like this._

She swung around surprised to see a handsome man walk out of the main building, a man with distinct glossy black hair dressed in expensive business attire and a pair of dark shades that did nothing to hide the fact that he was clearly of Uchiha descent.

His eyes seemed to pierce through her as his lips quirked up in an amused grin. "Itachi. Is this the girl who got the better of you? How pathetic."

Hikari's eyes widened as she caught sight of Itachi glaring back at the man. "Hn. You're getting too comfortable as the _temporary _CEO of the Uchiha Corporation," he said bitingly.

Madara's eyes darkened dangerously. "Watch it, boy. You have no proof of what you're saying."

Itachi shrugged dismissively as if he hadn't accused his uncle of anything serious and turned his eyes onto Hikari.

"Few things spark in me the need for revenge."

And in that moment Hikari knew that she was back in square one. The damn Uchiha hadn't gotten expelled after all.


End file.
